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New Hampshire legislature first to vote in favor of marijuana legalization

Posted on Jan 22, 2014

Defeat of the failed war on marijuana — long opposed by the Libertarian Party — took another giant step forward on Jan. 15 when the New Hampshire House became the first legislative body in the United States to vote in favor of legalization of cannabis.

The bill, H.B. 492, would decriminalize possession of one ounce of marijuana by adults and would allow residents to grow up to six plants. It passed in the House by a vote of 170-162 after heated debate.

Although Democratic governor Maggie Hassan has threatened to veto the bill, the House will vote on it again in February or March, after which it will move to the Senate for a vote.

Sixty percent of New Hampshire residents support the bill while only 36 percent oppose it. Medical marijuana is already legal in the state, with restrictions.

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971. Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.